Only in America: Cigar Fire Insurance Claim & Arson Story - Global Village Clipping

This document is not an automotive reference at all. It is a scanned clipping from a column titled "global village – a weekly posting from cyberspace," under the heading "Only in America." It relates a well-known humorous anecdote (a widely circulated urban legend) about a man from Charlotte, North Carolina, who insured a case of expensive cigars against fire, smoked them all, and then filed an insurance claim stating the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." When the insurer refused to pay, the man sued and won: the judge ruled that because the policy warranted the cigars insurable against fire without defining "unacceptable fire," the company had to pay. The insurer paid $15,000 rather than appeal. After the man cashed the cheque, the company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson; using his own claim and testimony against him, he was convicted and sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine. The document contains no vehicle information, fuse data, wiring, part numbers, or specifications relevant to a 1968 Ford Mustang or any other vehicle.